Spinning Rod Questions

[kblankenship]

I am looking to add a few more nice spinning setups to my arsenal. I have nice reels already and have questions about a few rods in particular. Locally, I can buy a 7'2" Med Light Okuma Psycho Stick or a 7' Med Halo TI Series for a pretty good deal. Does anyone have any personal experience with either of these? Also, I have a broken 13 Fishing Envy Black that I can send back and buy another rod under their "Oops Replacement Program". It would cost me $165 through this program to replace the rod with a new Envy Black III rod. I didn't get a lot of time with the rod before I broke it to know if I like it enough. Does anyone have any opinions on the newer Envy Black III to tell me if it would be worth the cost to replace it or should I just invest that money into something else? Thank you!

Kevin

[2eachhisown]

Not sure if this helps, but I I'll give my opinion on the Envy Blacks I've fished (bait casters not spinning). I haven't fished any Okuma's.

The Envy Black rods I fished were a touch heavier than some other brands, but they were well balanced. If my memory is correct the Gen 1 and Gen 2 rods were heavier, but balanced better than the Gen 3, but the Gen 3's balanced better than most rods in that price range. IMO the sensitivity of the Gen 3 models was pretty good for the $300+ price point and the cork looked pretty good on the rods I owned (I didn't have them for a long time). I definitely liked the Gen 3 reel seat and handles over the Gen 2 models (shiny silver) and I didn't care the snaggletooth hook keeper on the Gen 2 models.

The rods seemed to fish pretty true to their power ratings and listed actions and the models I fished had softer tips. Overall I thought they were decent rods, but there is one lingering issue with the 13 Fishing Brand rods including the Envys and that is the quality of the builds and components. I know a lot of guys that had problems with the first Gen models and those past issues continue to affect the resale value. I had one issue with a Gen 1 model and one issue with a Gen 2 model. I did not have any issues with the Gen 3 models I owned, but I did not have them for a long period of time. I really can't comment on the long term durability of the Gen 3 models because mine only saw light to moderate use.

Aside from the obvious, the reason I mention the quality control issues of the past (whether they continue or not I cannot say), there is still a perception of bad quality with these rods so your resale value will not be very good. I would guess you could expect a resale of a Gen 3 model in excellent condition of between $125 and $175 before any shipping and fees. I guess the bottom line is: setting aside the quality issue these rods are excellent for $165 with regard to their level of fishing performance, but given the secondary market for these rods (and potential durability issues) $165 is an okay price, not great/not bad.

Feel free to pm me if you'd like more details. I hope that provides some help and good luck in your search.